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The closing event in our series of 'Leaf to Leaf' celebrations took place on Friday 24th September with the long-awaited official opening of our amazing new library.
As music filled the air, courtesy of our talented vocalists and instrumentalists, the whole school gathered in the orchard and on the library terrace. Whilst the girls enjoyed mini bottles of elderflower, the wider school community of parents, alumnae and staff sipped glasses of fizz and everyone enjoyed the delicious cupcakes, provided by the catering team, which were decorated with sugar paste versions of famous novels!
Head, Dr Felicia Kirk, opened proceedings by welcoming everyone to the Lumi Library and introduced Sixth Form students, Issy and Elan, who talked about what the new library meant to them and of the significant benefits that it had brought to their study and learning. Our guest of honour, alumna and celebrated Author, Eva Rice, gave an entertaining and heartfelt speech that spanned the life lessons she had learnt from the top 10 books she had read at Calne *(see below). She finished by taking the opportunity to return No Direction Home, Bob Dylan’s autobiography, borrowed from the Coulter Library in 1993!
Head Girl, Khalilah, closed proceedings by thanking Eva Rice for her most enjoyable speech and presented her with a gift on behalf of all at Calne.
As Eva signed copies of her best-selling novel The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets, many guests were able to take the opportunity to explore the fabulous spaces in the library for the very first time.
The whole occasion was the perfect ending to three tremendous days of sunshine-filled 'Leaf to Leaf' celebrations at Calne.
* Eva Rice – ‘Top 10 books I read at Calne and Life Lessons from each!’
1. The Worst Witch. Jill Murphy. Everyone looks good with long hair, clumpy boots and a witch’s hat.
2. Far from the Madding Crowd. Hardy. Don’t lead men on for your own personal amusement. It will end in tears.
3. The Rainbow. DH Lawrence. Women are always searching for the end of the rainbow. Men just look at it.
4. I Capture the Castle. Dodie Smith. Boys are very simple. Girls are very complicated.
5. The Buddha of Suburbia. Hanif Kureishi. Girls are very simple. Boys are very complicated.
6. Riders. Jilly Cooper. Everyone loves a bad guy on a horse.
7. Cold Comfort Farm. Stella Gibbons. There’s something nasty in everyone’s woodshed and that’s ok.
8. The Pursuit of Love. Nancy Mitford. Great men are more fun to talk about than live with.
9. Brideshead Revisited. Evelyn Waugh. Great houses are more fun to talk about than live in.
10. Anthony and Cleopatra. Shakespeare: You can still be extremely hot past the age of 35.